Those Blue Skies Again
by Thief of Black Winged Hearts
Summary: So she wandered until she had fallen right into his arms, the one place she needed to be. And now everything was released, the rain continuing to pour down, until he would finally see those blue skies again. Hartemis comfert fic, after Root's death


Wow, I have really been on a roll lately, fanfic wise! I have all of a sudden been swarmed by plot bunnies, and so far I haven't had the chance to write them all out. Hopefully, this will be the first of many. I am feeling foolish optimistic. This is just a angsty fluffy oneshot I decided to write. If my plans work out, this will be the first in a family of three oneshots about beds. I hope you enjoy, and look for the next sort of installment!

Just thought I would take this opportunity to thank my beta Showpeople, because I have been really obnoxious about her getting this story beta'd fast. And if she were looking at this now, she would probably cringe at the grammer in my last sentance and point out the three spelling mistakes I probably made in this AN already. But hey, what are friends and good betas for? Go look at her fics, they are crazy good. Shameless plugging!

I don't own any of this. Sadly. Kudos to Eoin Colfer though.

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><p><span>Those Blue Skies Again<span>

Gentle, barely audible sobs, breathless and faint as butterfly wings, floated through the apartment on that smooth flow of the night and the wind. There was a sense of confinement about that small place, as if air and emotions had been shut in for so long, longing to be liberated. The artificial dusk, just a shade paler or a shade darker than its template, graced the room with soft lines, blurring everything and covering that which had been long concealed, a cocoon of raven's wing. In this safety, in this enticing embrace, men and woman and fairy alike had surrendered many things, given to Nix so she may safe-keep them from the harsh rays and clear lines of the day's light. The apartment itself, deep in the underground metropolis that was Haven, seemed well removed from the motion and life that was the city. Here, far away from the rest of the world, the past could be relived in perfect accuracy, stuck in a loop that seemed to never end, never changing the outcome. Worries and haunted spirits seemed to hover over the Spartan room, filling and over shadowing the occupants. The room, nothing but a basic bedroom that you would find in any hotel, was actually a place of imprisonment. Due to the dubious nature of their latest adventure, Artemis, Butler, and Holly were being held by the Lower Elements Police while they reviewed the information that would either condemn them as criminals or deign them heroes. There were two bedrooms in the apartment, one for Holly and one for Artemis. Butler, who was much too big for many human beds, let alone fairy mattresses, was sleeping stretched out on the kitchen floor. Artemis was concerned, seeing as Butler wasn't as young as he used to be, and sleeping on a hard surface like that could not be good for his back. But when this query was voiced aloud, Butler simply smiled and said he could get proper sleep when they got back to the manor.

The three of them had been lodged there for two days, forced to sit on their hands while the LEP both tracked a free, extremely dangerous criminal and reviewed the information, looking for any way they could further destroy their lives. The new Commander of the LEP, Ark Sool, harbored a burning mistrust, almost hatred, of all three of them, and would do anything to have them discredited. While also doing this, they were keeping a tight watch on Opal Koboi. Unfortunately, stopping this mad rogue had cost them the life of one of the LEP's finest commanders, Julius Root. He had been Holly's commanding officer, a friend, a father. He had been the reason she had joined the LEP and the one who had seen the potential in her, helping her out subtly as she climbed the ranks. He had been her guiding light for so many years, and now he was dead, just to satisfy one pixie's lust for revenge. And worse, she had been the one to pull the trigger, in a matter of speaking.

Lost in her grief, she had wandered the apartment in a daze for the past two days. She would mechanically sit where Artemis and Butler were sitting, eat whatever food was put in front of her, but other than that they could get no real response out of her. Artemis had voiced the theory to Butler that the multiple stresses of Root's death and their latest adventure had demanded too much of her already strained mind. When the added stress of having to run for their lives was no longer upon her, everything she had been repressing had washed over her, all at once, and her battered brain had refused to cope. The straw that broke the camel's back, said Artemis with a vague attempt at humor. It fell horribly flat, the worry in both their eyes too unmasked for either of them to kid themselves. They were both concerned for the future of their friend. Right now, if Ark Sool burst through the front door and started making wild accusations, Holly could do little to defend herself. Her vulnerability could very well cost her the job she had worked so hard to get, or more importantly, her freedom.

By that evening, Artemis and Butler were becoming desperate. Root's recycling service was being held tomorrow, after which Sool planned to return to the apartment to question them all one last time, before sending the two humans home. If he saw any form of weakness from any of them, they would be tossed in a jail cell before they could say the word 'lawyer'. Artemis was determined to not let this happen. He owed Holly more than he could ever pay back, for his parents, for Butler, his memories, and above all his new found morality. If he failed her now, in her hour of greatest need, he would never be able to look himself in the mirror anymore. Once upon a time, he would have just abandoned her while he made his own escape. But times had changed, hopefully for the better, and Artemis was determined to put that part of himself behind him. So, when the artificial lights dimmed with the coming of Haven's pale imitation of night, Artemis had sent Butler to his rest with the simple words, "Leave this to me."

Gliding through the living room on soundless feet, a pale shadow that moved with the poise and elegance of nobility, Artemis found Holly standing by the window. She had her head leaned against the glass so that her forehead just barely kissed the glass. Auburn hair darkened to rusty brown, hazel eyes darkened to deep chocolate, the night enfolded her like the arms of a lover, dimming all. Or perhaps, the dimness was that of an inner kind, the type one sees when the fire inside of someone goes out. Artemis hoped with all his might that Holly's flame may be rekindled yet. Moving so he could look down at her face, Artemis frowned at the blankness he saw there. Unsure, he gently took her hand, moving it lightly from the windowsill upon which it limply rested. Barely ghosting his fingers across her cheek to get her attention, he led her silently through the dusky living room and into Holly's bedroom. She followed with only the briefest of hesitations, gaze seeming unwilling to part with the view of the city below. Once this strange hold over her was broken, she gladly followed Artemis with the arrest of energy, close enough that the tip of her nose brushed the back of his shirt, until turned to sit her down on her bed. Once he got her situated on the edge of the mattress, feet dangling an inch off the floor, Artemis walked to the corner and opened the drawer of the dresser that resided there. As he searched, Holly didn't react in the slightest to the occasional squeak the dresser gave as Artemis opened drawer after drawer. The only motion she made as her eyes stared vacantly into space, was to trace the bedspread with her fingertips, seeming to make idle patterns or memorizing the texture of the cloth.

In the barely lit room, only illuminated from one small light from down the hall, Artemis ghosted from the corner to the bed, seating himself next to Holly. Carefully, Artemis guided her head with his hand so the back was presented to him. She had the smallest of reactions when Artemis picked up the brush he had placed on the bed next to him and began to gentle run it through her hair, giving a small exhalation of breath that sounded like a sigh. Artemis ran the brush through her hair again, watching as her shoulders relaxed fractionally. Spurred on by her positive reactions, he proceeded to gently untangle her hair from the knots that had been forming over the last four days. Her hair was shoulder length, much longer than when he had first met her, where there had been barely enough to pull in a fistfight. It fell in gentle waves framing her face when she pulled her head out of her regulation helmet. Caringly unknotting a clumped mass near the base of her skull, Artemis moved the brush over and over until the bristles could sweep through without any resistance. Pausing for a moment, Artemis ran his fingers through the patch of de-tangled hair. It was smooth as corn silk, with a comforting weight as it passed through his hand. Holly let a puff of sharp air escape her nostrils, a sign of irritation, and Artemis smiled, even as he picked up the brush to continue. Lovingly, patiently, he kept gently smoothing her knotted mass of hair, until it shining and smooth, straight down to her shoulders. He did this with the air of long practice, for many night during his mother's mental illness he had come to her room, mostly when he was lonely and sorely in need of kind company, and would brush her matted hair until it shone. It had calmed both her and him to a state of relaxation, where the weight of the world would fall away, and she would most times recognize his face. He had treasured those moments of clarity as they became fewer and fewer. Artemis thought that if applied correctly, the same action might give Holly the same calmness and clarity it had sometimes inspired in his mother.

By the time Artemis had finished, Holly was relaxed to the point where she was half-leaning against Artemis's thin chest, cheek resting against his beating heart, listening to the sound. Artemis ran a gentle finger along the back of her head, feeling the smooth softness of her auburn locks. He did not make any other move than that, did not embrace her or shift so he could look her in the eye. He just let the situation be, as he felt was warranted, for the world seemed to be holding its breath, drawing the moment out like the slow flow of honey. There was no damage in the inaction, so he gazed at a point somewhere over on the opposite wall and let that one finger gently drift, taking its natural course. Time was measured by the slow rasp of Holly's breathing, counterpointed by the steady, almost inaudible breaths of Artemis. And so time and the night drifted around them like mist on the plain, until Holly opened her mouth and spoke.

"My mother used to brush my hair," she said, her voice not quiet, but low and steady. Artemis had to quell the surge of triumph and joy when he heard her speak for the first time in two days. Instead, he felt the words fit in with the moment like a lock fitting into a key. Holly, from her place on Artemis's heart, continued. "Every night, when I was a little girl, she used to come into my room, and brush my hair before I fell asleep. It's is one of the many things I missed when I left the house, and later on, when she died. She died, just like so many others. Just like Julius." Artemis could feel the faintness of her bitter smile imprinted against his skin. "Why do I leave saying the important things until it is far too late? I never got to tell Julius that…" She paused there, and gave a small, harsh laugh. The sound tore into Artemis like the claws of a wild beast. Such anger and despondency did not belong in Holly's voice. "Well, I guess it doesn't matter now."

"Do you really think that?' asked Artemis, slowly with a hint of sorrow in his voice. Only then did Holly raise her head, turning to look at him. He saw the broken heart in her hazel eyes, the same sadness she saw in his eyes of stunning ice blue. "I think it is just as important, if not more important, now. I don't think Commander Root would want you to bottle your emotions in like this."

Holly gazed off into the distance, eyes glazed over with emotion and the vaguest hint of unshed tears. Her hand clenched and unclenched on her lap, before suddenly going slack. "I never got to thank him," she choked out, a single tear trekking its way down her cheek. "I never got to tell him how much I owe him. I never told him how much I respected him. He was like a father. Oh, Frond, I killed him." Her shoulders were shaking hard now, trying to repress a tide of emotion that had been buried for the past four days. "I knew there couldn't be a sweet spot on the bomb," said Holly, her voice quivering. She just stared blindly ahead, unseeing as Artemis tenderly ran his thumb across her face, wiping away a tear and tucking an errant strand of red hair behind her delicate, pointed ear. "I knew it, deep down in my bones, that Opal would never let me have even that slightest chance of a happy ending. But I still shot him, still made that choice to pull the trigger, and the fairy race almost died because of it."

Artemis hesitated, seeming unsure of himself and what he was about to do, before drawing Holly into his arms so her head once again rested above his heart. Leaning down so his cheek rested in her hair on the top of her head, Artemis murmured, "Do you think Opal did not know all of this? She would have planned this, counting on it to tear you apart this way. And what could you have done? If you had not taken that shot, would you blame yourself any less, if not more? There was no possible way you and Commander Root could have gotten out of that situation alive. You know this was _not_ your fault." And upon hearing this, the words she had needed to hear so desperately, she fractured in his arms, simply leaning against him as the sobs ripped through her small body. She drew from his strength, and he gave her all that he had to offer, simply keeping her enfolded in his gentle embrace. Artemis knew what he was looking for. Her heart had been clouded, doubts and regrets overshadowing until she couldn't see the truth anymore. So she had wandered, dazed and sodden with misery, until she had fallen right into his arms, the one place she needed to be. And now everything was released, the rain continuing to pour down, until he would finally see those blue skies again.

So she let everything go, tears pouring down she had no more tears to cry. She felt that everything had been poured out, leaving her hollow, ready to be filled with something different. A wave of exhaustion crashed over her, as often happens when someone has a good cry, and she felt herself drifting off into sleep leaning against Artemis's tear-damp chest. He just sat silently through it all, feeling the emotion drain out of her as he rocked her gently to the time of his breathing. When she began to drift off, he simply leaned into the pillows of the bed, laying her next to him so she was still cradled softly in his arms. With one hand, he reached for the covers, pulling the sheet over the both of them. Holly simply snuggled closer, unwilling to part with the warmth and comfort Artemis had provided, and fell into a deep slumber. Knowing that any movement would wake the fragile beauty next to him, Artemis simply closed his eyes, letting his own fatigue wash over him. In a few minutes, he was sound asleep next to Holly.

That was where Butler found them early the next morning, when he had rose at around five to cook breakfast. When his search found his young charge and their greatest friend snuggled together in the bed, he just pulled the covers up carefully so the sheet would cover them more comfortably, gently ran a hand through Artemis's sleep-tousled hair, then went to make cook breakfast in the kitchen. And when Artemis awoke to Holly looking at him with the first genuine smile he had seen grace her features in days, Artemis could have sworn he saw the faintest trace of blue.

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><p>Heh, I feel like such a sap for writing this. Review if you went "AWWWWWW! God, that was sickeningly sweet!"<p> 


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